Abstract
An atomic electron is prepared in a state closely analogous to Schrödinger's coherent superposition of “live cat” and “dead cat.” The electronic state is a coherent superposition of two spatially localized wave packets separated by approximately at the opposite extremes of a Kepler orbit. State-selective ionization is used to verify that only every other atomic level is populated in the “cat state,” and a Ramsey fringe measurement is used to verify the coherence of the superposition.
- Received 15 November 1995
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.77.1913
©1996 American Physical Society